‘You must miss the Countess terribly,’ I said. ‘When did she…?’
‘Die?’ His body stiffened. ‘I’m sorry that part of our family history has slipped your memory. Or perhaps your father never found it important enough to explain.’
Of course—Abbey would have at least known that. Urgh. Poor bloke. My stomach twisted really tight.
‘No… I mean…’ I cleared my throat. ‘I was just going to ask:
when did she
first receive the diagnosis?’ I guessed she’d had the Big C. ‘Father didn’t give me many details and, as you know…’ blagging for my life, here ‘… with the estrangement between our parents, attending the funeral proved to be, sadly, quite impossible.’
‘Granted.’ His cheek twitched. ‘From start to finish, the cancer took three years to take her from Father and me. Two years next month she’s been gone. Mother was only fifty-five.’
A lump rose in my throat as Edward’s eyes looked all dull. Wow. How tragic. Nowadays, fifty-five was like the new forty. And if anyone knew what life was like without a mum it was me.
‘How old was she when your parents married?’ I tucked a loose dyed blonde curl behind my ear. The Earl must have been a right sugar daddy.
‘Twenty-three, I think. Father was forty-two.’
We sat in silence for a few seconds, before I rummaged in my handbag.
‘My hairbrush—it was in here earlier…’ I must have looked a right mess and totally unladylike. With a sigh, I pulled out all the pins, and locks of hair dropped around my face. Lady C would not have been impressed.
‘Here,’ said Edward in a gruff voice as he approached and slipped an elastic band from his wrist. He sat on the bed, turned me away from him and deftly twisted my hair at either side before tying it all together at the back with the elastic band.
‘Um…thank you so much,’ I said and turned back to him, wondering why tingles ran up and down my spine.
‘I used to do that for Mother,’ he said in a quiet voice. ‘Especially at the end, when she was bed-bound.’ He stood up and cleared his throat. ‘Kathleen will be up in a minute. Please be in formal dress and downstairs for seven sharp at the latest. Viscount Hamilton-Brown and his family will be here at six-thirty for drinks.’ The door shut behind him.
What an oddball he was – one minute so gentle, the next abrupt and stand-offish.
I leapt off the bed to gaze out of the window. My bedroom was at the back of the house and looked down onto the cutest courtyard with fancy flower pots and intricate metal benches. Jean stood in the ornamental gardens, weeding flower beds. Nick was further away, working in a regimented vegetable patch. To the left was the maze Abbey had mentioned and in the distance was a forested area, just in front of which was… I squinted…grey headstones, fenced off. Aha—the family cemetery.
My eyes headed back to Nick. He looked shorter than Edward, with a stockier build and more cheerful face – less typically attractive than my supposed cousin, but there was a certain charisma, an air of being confident with women.
He called out something to Jean. She laughed and he grinned back. Nick would need a sense of humour if he was going to agree to my plan. How on earth was I going to catch the gardener alone and put forward my mega idea ASAP, i.e. before dinner tonight?
Another knock at the door interrupted my plotting and Kathleen entered with her yummy broth. Weird it was, calling her by her first name while she addressed me as Miss Croxley, but Lady C had drilled into me that etiquette about names and titles was especially important with staff. So, after I’d done my best to convince her I felt fine and there was no need to worry, we talked about the evening’s dinner. Like a nanny, Kathleen hovered until I’d cleared the soup bowl and, thanks to her warm down-to-earth chat, tension seeped out of my shoulders and my bedroom began to feel more homely. For the first time I felt I could cope with two weeks living in this building.
After she left, I took a leisurely shower and changed into one of Abbey’s smart black dresses. Its round neckline was modest but low enough to show a little shoulder. Freakily, it went down to the ground, covering every inch of my legs, although it had always looked kind of classy on Abbey. At least it had short sleeves, otherwise I might have really fainted from the heat.
I pinned up my hair again and put on Abbey’s crystal necklace and matching earrings. I applied a small squirt of perfume and a subtle shade of eyeshadow, just like my best bud would. It was six-fifteen. My mouth felt dry. Ahead of me was a whole evening of pretending to be someone I wasn’t. Inhale. Exhale. Feeling calmer, I left my bedroom and headed along a high ceilinged corridor, actually feeling rather grown-up and glamorous. Halfway down the winding mahogany staircase—yay!—I bumped into Nick!
‘Miss Croxley,’ he said and gave a smile. Flecks of soil covered his T-shirt. ‘Nice to see you’ve recovered,’ he said in a concerned voice.
‘Thank you. Kathleen’s broth has revived me.’ I cleared my throat. ‘Actually, I was hoping to catch you.’
He raised one eyebrow.
‘About earlier,’ I said. ‘Me pretending that you and I spent time together last year…’
Nick held up the palm of his hand. ‘Please, Miss Croxley. I get it. We’ve all been briefed about how we need to make it look as if you are a regular visitor.’
‘It’s not just that… Can I be quite frank? May I speak to you in confidence?’
‘No problem, Miss.’ Nick’s eyes twinkled and I couldn’t help smiling – which was great. I’d always been won over by blokes who could make me laugh. A good sense of humour beat looks for me every time. I mean, there was only so much a six-pack could do after a crap day at work, whereas a joke…
‘Thank you, Nick. It’s just that… According to Roxy, Applebridge Hall isn’t the favourite to win. She suggested… Please do excuse the phrase…that somehow the Croxley family…forgive me, but, um,
sex things up
.’
His eyes widened.
A bubble of laughter tickled inside my chest. Oh, God—mustn’t laugh. In fact, thinking about it, this wasn’t funny at all. I was putting myself on the line here – my true identity might well and truly be rumbled. ‘I know – it’s a terribly crass idea, but I want to do everything possible to help my family. So, I was thinking that, well…’ How would he take this? Be offended? Amused? Or suss out straight away that I’m no real aristocrat? ‘… a secret affair between a Croxley and a member of staff might improve ratings.’
Nick’s mouth fell open. ‘Are you proposing, Miss, that you and I…?’
My heart raced. ‘Exactly. It would be purely for the cameras, of course, and more suggestion than action. It pains me to resort to such tactics, but my family’s heritage is at stake.’
I waited, imagining the disdain of Edward if he’d been listening, hoping that I was right in thinking that good-humoured Nick was the opposite of judgemental. The gardener stared for a moment and scratched his unshaven chin, which was kind of sexy and something you’d never find on Lord Clean-cut, Edward.
‘The Baron of Marwick sure is tough competition,’ said Nick. ‘He also announced his plans to win this afternoon. The Castle has been set up to host weekend medieval hen and stag nights, with banquets held in the dungeons. I bet they’ll get pretty crazy. During the week, he’ll host corporate team-building trips, incorporating archery and shooting. It all sounds…’
I sighed. ‘Awfully sexy.’ Oops – that wasn’t something Abbey would ever say.
‘Yeah, but… A Croxley mixing it up with a gardener? Someone who works on the land?’ His eyes narrowed. ‘You can’t possibly be related to Lord Edward if you’re suggesting such a thing.’
I swallowed hard. Surely I hadn’t misjudged Nick so badly…
‘You’d better show me some form of ID, Miss,’ he said, ‘before I say something to the Earl.’
LORD EDWARD’S E-DIARY
Saturday 1
st
September
‘Comments’
6.15p.m.
Thank you, but no,
Lovehotnoble
—rubber trim would probably be equally uncomfortable.
Now, duty calls – I must hurry to greet our guests. Just a quick word to say that Abigail… How long I’ve waited to see her face. I mean, erm, of course, it’s only been months since our last meeting, but nevertheless… To have her here finally… At Applebridge… It’s smashing.
Right. Anyway. Really must go. Dinner awaits.
Nick and I couldn’t stop laughing. Mega phew! For one minute I really believed he’d seen through my disguise and was after a peek at my passport.
‘Desperate times call for desperate measures,’ I said eventually. ‘But honestly, Nick, I perfectly understand if you think this idea…improper.’ After all, laughs aside, this was all an act to me but it was Nick’s real life – he could lose his job.
I caught sight of a designer logo on the bottom of his T-shirt and recognized his cologne as an expensive brand I’d once sniffed when out with a boyfriend. Nick struck me as a bit glam for a gardener.
‘Consider me in, Miss,’ he said.
‘You’re sure?’ I raised my eyebrows, giving him one last chance to back out. Although I could sense that, unlike Edward, a major drive in Nick’s life was fun; I reckoned we would really get along.
‘One hundred per cent!’ he said. ‘How do you suggest we get things started?’
‘Slowly.’ I backed up against the crimson-painted wall, as Nick had leant forward to keep our voices and plans ultra secret. ‘Perhaps a look here, a touch there – although, having said that, we only have two weeks.’ Footsteps sounded from the bottom of the staircase.
‘Better get things moving, then,’ whispered Nick. ‘A friend of mine knows a Z-list celebrity who trades off winding up photographers that he’s having all sorts of affairs. His specialty is this dud kiss – I can show you if you like. We’ll need to practice…’
Before I knew it, he’d placed a hand over my mouth and bowed forward to snog his knuckles. But still, it wasn’t a bad idea—from behind him it must have looked mega realistic. And Nick did smell good. It was a while since I’d been this close to a man, especially one who had no ulterior motive. With easy-going Nick, it felt kind of comfortable, until…. uh oh! I could hardly breathe now, seeing as he’d taken me by surprise and I’d had no time to fill my lungs with air.
‘Unhand her, you scoundrel!’ hissed Edward, who’d appeared from downstairs. He climbed the steps towards us, two at a time, appearing even taller than usual. Nick backed off immediately and I gasped for breath.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing, man?’ Eyes blazing, Edward grabbed the gardener’s shoulder. ‘Pack your things this instant and leave. I won’t have you disrespect my cousin!’
‘Look, Edward,’ I said, heart thumping, ‘let me explain…’ Wow, no one had ever rushed to my side to protect me. My brothers and dad thought me well capable of looking after myself—which I was. But still… This mansion must have brought out the damsel in me!
A few minutes later a snarl still crossed Edward’s lips as he stared at Nick. ‘Tell me that again, Cousin. And you’d better hurry up…’ He glanced at his watch. ‘It’s almost six-thirty. Our dinner guests have been shown in and are waiting for us.’
‘Nick, um, used to be a dental technician,’ I said, repeating the rapidly made-up excuse while trying not to ogle my supposed cousin in his tux. ‘One of my teeth was hurting and Nick very kindly agreed to take a look.’
Knights in shining armour were all very well, but jeez, Edward obviously didn’t believe in the process of verbal or written warnings before firing staff members. Although it was kind of sweet. My heart still beat madly. I’d always found loyalty to family and friends mega attractive.
I stared from Edward to Nick, who stood like two spitting hyenas. Perhaps they had more in common than I suspected. Yet, heroics aside, I reckoned Edward would be much harder to live with than laidback, up-for-a-laugh Nick.
‘Yep, Miss Croxley’s, erm, got an ulcer,’ said the gardener and folded his arms. ‘Seems like Your Lordship got the wrong end of the stick. So, if you’ll excuse me, I must change into my outfit to help out at dinner.’ Nick turned to me and winked. ‘I’d gargle with salt water, miss,’ he said, and disappeared up the stairs.
‘Was he bothering you?’ said Edward.
‘Not at all.’ I moved away from the wall and brushed down my dress.
‘Stay away from Nick,’ said Edward. ‘He’s a shifty chap.’
‘With respect, Cousin, who are you to order me around?’ Well, Abbey often demonstrated that being a lady wasn’t about being a doormat. It was awesome, listening to her on the phone if someone dared call pretending to be our energy company or acting as if they could give her a better mortgage deal.
Edward’s eyes narrowed. ‘There’s something in his expression—a total lack of respect.’
Yeah, well, not everyone’s in awe of the aristocracy.
‘Right, Abigail, let’s go downstairs,’ he said, his tone bringing an abrupt end to the incident. ‘Viscount Hamilton-Brown and his family have waited long enough…along with the camera crew and production staff,’ he added, a hint of resignation tainting his voice.
I took a deep breath. This dinner party was the first real test of whether I could behave like a lady. If I couldn’t get through this evening without embarrassing myself, then there was no point carrying on with the whole charade. We walked down to the ground floor and came to a door at the front right hand side of the house. It seemed strange, Nick going to the top floor to change, but Lady C had explained that, despite the phrase ‘upstairs and downstairs’, at different points in history it was nothing strange for servants to live ‘up in the gods’. In fact she’d crammed a lot of information into a few days, including a summary of European royals – ooh, of all the places to live, glam Monaco was now top of my list.
‘That’s the Low Drawing Room,’ said Edward. ‘Perhaps you remember it from your last visit.’
‘Cousin— I was only nine.’ Without asking, I ducked inside for a moment and spied furniture with carved animal legs – how amazin’! And just look at the mega detailed fireplace and classy chandelier… However, the spooky grandfather clock creeped me out and seemed better suited to the set of a haunted house horror film.